Protect America's Wolves!

To be delivered to
President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate

Petition Statement

President Obama and his first Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, a Colorado rancher, adopted unjust and heartless "tea party" policies toward America's wolves, and the U.S. Congress is equally guilty in this ecological and ethical injustice. Wolves are highly intelligent, native, and vital natural predators that belong on the land. Too many brutish ranchers and misguided hunters have unfairly demonized and maligned wolves for centuries. An American majority wants an end to the demonization and massacre of America's wolves and other native wildlife.

There are currently 47,933 signatures.
NEW goal -
We need 50,000 signatures!

Petition Background

Wolves are native, ecologically vital and beautiful members of the North American landscape. Wherever they live, wolves are remarkable, natural predators who keep their prey species healthy and strong. Wolves have been persecuted and massacred for centuries due to human ignorance, intolerance, and cruelty. It is the very opposite of the respect, admiration and protection they deserve. Wolves are highly social and very intelligent beings and, like all canines, they are loyal and loving to their families.

As the late and most dedicated Alaska wolf field scientist Gordon Haber observed, if humans were as loving and devoted to their families as wolves are to their families, the world would be a much better place.

Brutally persecuting and killing such ecologically vital, sensitive, intelligent and family-oriented beings should be labeled what it is: heartless animal abuse and criminal slaughter. In this modern era, with our deeper understanding of ecology and the inter-connected circle of life, the magic of biodiversity and amidst growing compassion towards all wild beings, to perpetrate such brutality and unjustified killing of wolves and other natural predators is hugely unethical and ecologically criminal. This unacceptable, horrid killing stands in blatant contradiction to the expressed desires of the wildlife respecting and conservation supporting majority of American citizens and decent people from around the world.

Shame on Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Alaska. The ignorant, anti-ecology wolf haters in these states are a disgrace to the entire country, as are the politicians who are in bed with them. For example, corrupt and backward Idaho state officials have allowed a wolf killing contest there and have also hired a wildlife killer to slaughter two wolf families living deep in the vast Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Are Idaho wolf haters and politicians, and the persecutors and killers in other states as well, so lacking in decency and humility that they dare to tell the Creator He made a mistake by creating wolves? And they are correcting His mistakes? Vital and beautiful, wild and free wolves are not safe anywhere in Idaho, and that is a great sin against Creation. Idaho caters to animal abusers, wildlife persecutors and destroyers and provides one of the best examples of why America's wolves must be placed back on the Endangered Species List everywhere in the country.

Too many cattle ranchers perpetuate deadly, hysterical myths and ridiculous exaggerations about depredation of cattle by wolves, which is statistically insignificant in every state. Wolves much prefer their wild prey. For instance, in the huge state of Montana, there are 2,500,000 non-native cattle. Tens of thousands of cattle in Montana die every year due to weather, disease, birth complications and from eating poison plants, for which ranchers receive zero compensation. In 2011, the US Fish & Wildlife Service confirmed only 74 cattle taken by wolves in the entire state. 74 out of 2,500,000... that is statistically nearly zero! And Montana ranchers are foolishly compensated for such tiny losses. The depredation statistics are similarly tiny in nearby Idaho and Wyoming. Yet, so many cattlemen constantly scheme and pressure federal and state politicians to kill wolves.

Cattlemen should no longer dictate federal wildlife policy out West, as they have for so long. Many ranchers refuse to adopt proven, non-lethal methods to control the very tiny losses they experience from wolves. Instead, cattlemen are addicted to a culture of killing and having control over whatever it is they want to destroy. It's the same arrogance and brutality that earlier destroyed Native American people and massacred native wildlife throughout the continent. Decent Americans should no longer allow such brutality to be the American way anywhere. It is shameful and unacceptable that any supposedly decent American politician would listen to such destructive schemers and then serve their cruel, unjust, and immoral demand that innocent wolves be condemned to death.

Isn't it time the United States finally atoned for causing such brutal destruction to both native people and native wildlife, instead of allowing such monstrous cruelty to continue? Instead of more persecution and killing, this country should create, without delay, a Peace Corps initiative to help heal Native Americans who suffer greatly from ill health, suicide and despondency; and to heal and restore native wildlife, all of whom deserve to live in peace, at last, in what is their native homeland, too.

Until this needed change comes, past mistakes are repeated again and again within a broken system. To add massive insult to injury, the ranchers' non-native cattle graze on federal taxpayer subsidized public lands that belong to all Americans, land that should be a haven for America's vital wolves and other native wildlife, including native bison, grizzly bears, mountain lions, prairie dogs, wolverines, coyotes and so many other amazing members of the continent's rich natural heritage. The massive numbers of non-native cattle grazing unsupervised throughout the arid West cause tremendous damage trampling across fragile ecosystems where they do not belong. The cattleman's reign of terror against the wildlife and wild lands of the United States must permanently come to an end. And let it begin now by saying 'No More' to the federal tax-payer subsidized 'welfare ranchers' unrelenting campaign of the demonization and slaughter of America's wolves and their families.

There are decent ranchers who respect native wildlife, including wolves, and who have adopted proven, responsible and humane measures to co-exist with them. These good and decent people are to be commended and supported, it's just that there are not enough of them.

Ecologically ignorant hunters, selfish hunting outfitters, and sadistic trappers relentlessly demonize, persecute and slaughter natural predators that belong in every ecosystem. Wolves, like all natural predators, are miracles of evolution and keep every ecosystem they inhabit vibrant and healthy. Where wolves are present on the landscape, there are often more elk and deer, and these prey animals are healthier. For instance, according to the Montana Division of Fish & Wildlife, there were 90,000 elk living in the state before wolves began returning to Montana, on their own, in the 1970's and 80's. Now, with wolves living across the state, wildlife officials estimate the elk population at over 140,000! Elk populations have risen similarly in nearby states. It is quite easy to refute the unfounded propaganda that wolves decimate their prey.

When wolves returned to Yellowstone after a seventy-year absence, it didn't take long for a cascade of positive change to occur across the land. Stream-side vegetation, which had been stripped bare by an unnatural over-abundance of elk, started to grow again and, as trees rose up, stream and river waters were cooled by the shade, fish and beavers and songbirds returned. Coyote populations were reduced by wolves, which allowed more smaller mammals to survive and thrive. Birds of prey had more to eat, as did many other animals that depend on the presence of wolves.

No one would know such scientific facts by listening to the anti-wolf propaganda nonsense from hunter lobby groups such as the dishonest Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Most hunting organizations are focused on killing with little or no regard for ecological balance and ecosystem health or the ethical concerns of the non-hunting majority. Where are the ethical hunters who respect ecology and natural predators and who understand they should not be hunted?

Without respect for ecology, without honoring the right of all native wildlife to live free in its native habitat - free from demonization, persecution and abuse - by disregarding the rights of the non-hunting humane majority, hunters will at some point discover that hunting itself has lost public support. As the national media finally awakens from its long slumber and starts reporting the horrific abuse of America's vital wolves and so many other innocent wild beings, hunters will find that the tables have turned against them. The time for positive change is now.

There should be no hunting or trapping of wolves and other natural predators. They are simply too important as living beings that create balance and ensure biodiversity within every ecosystem, just as nature intended. Nature controls their numbers very well without any help from wildlife managers and sport killers.

Wolves are not just being killed in the US. Many, including pups, are being tortured. Why does the modern United States still allow barbaric wildlife trapping, with steel torture traps and strangling cables? This horrific torture of wild beings is outlawed in 89 countries as outdated and cruel. It is certainly time to outlaw barbaric wildlife trapping in the US. Wolves, as sentient, intelligent and family-oriented beings, feel intense pain and fear and suffer horribly just as humans would when caught in a torturous steel trap or snared by a strangling cable. In the 21st century, no animal of the wild should be subject to such cruelty and torture.

Are you a dog lover? We have wolves to thank for the precious gift of our loving dogs. From the tiniest chihuahua to the largest Great Dane, every single dog comes from their living ancestors, wolves. That is why wolf and dog DNA match up nearly 100%. The affection, devotion, playfulness and intelligence that so many of us cherish in our dogs are the very same qualities of wolves, even more so. How can we allow ecologically vital, sensitive, intelligent and family-oriented wolves to be demonized, abused, tortured and massacred any longer? Dog lovers should be among the most passionate and active of wolf defenders!

Imagine your family dog (your family wolf), alone in the night, caught in a painful steel trap by a delicate paw or snared by its neck to slowly strangle or shot in its gut while a gleeful sport killer watches it suffer an agonizing death. And all this animal wants is to be free and get back to you, to its family pack. America's wolves are being persecuted, tortured and killed in this and other horrible ways, as you are reading this, in the "land of the free and home of the brave." Free to be what? An evil animal abuser and serial killer?

In Wisconsin, home of ecology hero Aldo Leopold, state wildlife "officials" and a small "citizens board" (packed with hunters and trappers) recently voted to allow the tiny minority of bear hunters there - who are already allowed to chase, harass and kill gentle and intelligent black bears using attack dogs - to use these same dogs to chase, persecute and kill wolves. These wildlife abusers and killers have even been given permission to use their attack dogs on wolves during denning season when female wolves give birth to their pups. Out of sight cannot be out of mind. Such monstrous cruelty should be outlawed as unacceptable, out-dated and criminal behavior. It is not fair chase hunting; it is animal abuse and persecution. Such brutality and suffering of innocent wildlife in Wisconsin should not be allowed by the decent and respectable people of any 21st-century state or country.

Federal and state wildlife agencies that are now facilitating this shameful persecution and massacre of America's wolves are full partners in the deaths of thousands of innocent wolves. The rising death toll from these corrupt state government-sanctioned wolf massacres is in addition to the annual slaughter of hundreds of wolves by the US Department of Agriculture's hideous Wildlife Services division. Wildlife Services is a federal tax payer-subsidized, paramilitary-like agency devoted to the mass killing of America's native predators and other wildlife that belong across the landscape, even though they are deemed unworthy of life by earth-destroying cattlemen, industrial agribusiness, and the sport killer lobby. This brutal federal agency created almost a century ago is a festering scar on the country's soul. Most Americans are unaware of this perverted agency of wildlife killers, as powerful cattle and agribusiness interests have succeeded in foiling any Congressional oversight of Wildlife Services for decades.

When wolf defenders finally succeed in stopping this latest American wolf massacre, serious reform of these corrupt agencies must be implemented without delay. Wildlife Services must be defunded and dismantled. The mission of all state wildlife agencies must permanently shift away from serving cattlemen, agribusiness, and the sport killer lobby. It's time that these corrupt state agencies evolve and change to reflect the compassionate and respectful values of the majority of American citizens, who have themselves evolved and learned to treasure the country's natural heritage. Their primary mission must be the restoration, conservation, and protection of the continent's native wildlife and their habitat. That is an honorable and life-affirming mission for the United States and for all nations across the globe. We are supposed to be a democracy and an ethical country, after all.

A humane and wildlife-loving majority of Americans and wolf friends from around the world, demand an immediate end to the unjust demonization, persecution and slaughter of America's wolves. Wolves must be placed back on the Endangered Species List and permanently protected from further hateful propaganda and malicious fairy tales. More and more Americans believe wolves should be a proud symbol of the United States, alongside the bald eagle, a living symbol of strength, perseverance, and beauty.

Wolves are vital, beautiful and amazing beings. To love wolves is to love life. Please help defend and protect them.
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TAKE ACTION! HERE ARE TWO ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW TO HELP PROTECT AMERICA'S WOLVES:

FIRST:
PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE THREE PHONE CALLS. CONTACT YOUR US REPRESENTATIVE AND BOTH YOUR US SENATORS. YOU CAN CONNECT WITH EACH OF THESE POLITICIANS, ONE AT A TIME, BY CALLING THE US CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD AT 1-202-224-3121. WHOEVER PICKS UP IN EACH OFFICE, ASK FOR THE CHIEF AID OR THE AID WHO HANDLES ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. THESE AIDS OFTEN HAVE A LOT OF INFLUENCE. BE POLITE AND CONFIDENT. WHEN THIS PERSON COMES TO THE PHONE, TELL THEM WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT WOLVES BY READING THE PROTECT AMERICA'S WOLVES PETITION (AND FROM OTHER SOURCES) AND THEN DEMAND THAT YOUR US REP/US SENATOR VOTE TO KEEP AMERICA'S WOLVES FEDERALLY PROTECTED, ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST. ALSO, LET THEM KNOW YOU WILL REMEMBER WHETHER THEY VOTED TO PROTECT WOLVES OR NOT ON ELECTION DAY.

SECOND:
(IF YOU ARE TRULY MOTIVATED TO PROTECT WOLVES)
REQUEST A MEETING WITH EACH OF THEM, OR, IF THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, WITH THEIR CHIEF AID. BRING ALONG A KNOWLEDGEABLE AND ARTICULATE FRIEND OR TWO, OR TAKE YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY, INCLUDING CHILDREN! BRING PHOTOS OF WOLVES AND WOLF PUPS AND INTELLIGENT EDITORIALS (GOOGLE: NEW YORK TIMES, HUFFINGTON POST, WOLVES...) BRING A FEW COPIES OF THIS PETITION, INCLUDING THE BACKGROUND TEXT. BRING THESE MATERIALS TO REVIEW AND SHARE TOGETHER AT YOUR MEETING AND COPIES TO LEAVE BEHIND. AND THEN FOLLOW UP.
I DID THIS WITH MY OWN US REPRESENTATIVES' CHIEF AID. SHE LISTENED AND LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT WOLVES... AND IT WORKED! MY US REP SIGNED A CONGRESSIONAL LETTER CALLING FOR FEDERAL PROTECTION OF WOLVES, WHICH SHE HAD BEEN UNWILLING TO DO BEFORE OUR MEETING.
YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO! DO IT FOR AMERICA'S WOLVES AND FOR ALL OUR NATIVE WILDLIFE.

YOU CAN MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE, BUT ONLY IF YOU TAKE ACTION.

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Important Note to all devoted wolf defenders:
After signing this petition and leaving a comment, visit:

*** PREDATOR DEFENSE (predatordefense.org) - An excellent, non-profit organization that has been fighting to stop the mindless persecution and cruel massacre of all natural predators in the United States, since 1990.
When you visit Predator Defense, be sure to view and widely share their recently produced videos: "The Imperiled American Wolf" and "EXPOSED: the United States' Department of Agriculture's Secret War on Wildlife." Again, please share both of these videos with everyone in your circle of compassionate animal lovers. Check out Predator Defense!

*** WILD EARTH GUARDIANS (wildearthguardians.org) - Such a creative, courageous, determined and effective organization and getting better all the time! WildEarth Guardians is doing the very best advocacy work for vulnerable Mexican Gray Wolves in the Southwest US. This fantastic grassroots organization is also fighting to protect sage grouse, wolverines, wild cats and other precious wildlife, wild places, rivers and the overall health of the American West. WildEarth has successfully negotiated the removal of cattle from public lands vital for native wildlife and is working to repeat this success again and again. Check out WildEarth Guardians!

*** THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE US (humanesociety.org) - Of all the large animal and wildlife defender organizations, HSUS is doing the best work on both the federal and state level to actively protect America's wolves. HSUS is a powerful, determined and wonderful advocate for animals and wildlife throughout the United States and the world. Please consider becoming a member of HSUS.

*** PEER - Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (peer.org) - PEER is a national non-profit alliance of local, state and federal scientists, law enforcement officers, public land managers and other professionals dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. PEER is a unique and relentless defender of America's vital wolves, other besieged native wildlife, and their wilderness homes.

*** TRAP FREE MONTANA (trapfreemt.org) - The brutality and cruelty of wildlife trapping must come to an end now throughout the US and the world. Trap Free Montana is committed to ending wildlife trapping on Montana's public lands, which comprise roughly one-third of that beautiful Rocky Mountain state. This determined independent group is worthy of your support. A successful initiative in Montana will inspire successful initiatives elsewhere. Please visit their website and help Trap Free Montana win this fight.

*** Exposing the Big Game (exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com) - one of the most honest, informative and intelligent wildlife defender blogs on the web. "Making Sport of Killing is Not Healthy Human Behavior."

*** Wisconsin Wildlife Ethic (wiwildlifeethic.org) - the lead author of this website's essays on wildlife is one of the best writers on wildlife and wildlife policy in the United States. Her excellent writing, deep knowledge and passion should be widely read and shared by wildlife defenders everywhere.

*** Howling for Justice (howlingforjustice.wordpress.com) - an informative blog focused on defending wolves and the injustices being perpetrated against them.
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Suggested reading:

*** Of Wolves And Men by Barry Lopez
*** Among Wolves by Gordon Haber and Marybeth Holleman
*** Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
*** A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans
*** Wolves at Our Door by Jim and Jamie Dutcher
*** The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
*** Man Kind? Our Incredible War on Wildlife by Cleveland Amory
*** Wolfer by Carter Niemeyer
*** The Philosopher and the Wolf by Mark Rowlands
*** In the Temple of Wolves by Rick Lamplugh
*** Exposing the Big Game, Living Targets of a Dying Sport by Jim Robertson

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One huge way you can help wolves survive and thrive, wild and free, is to stop eating cows, which will end your personal support of the earth destroying cattle industry and cattlemen. It is not as hard as many people think. You will lower your risk of cancer and heart disease while helping wolves and all native wildlife to live free on their native land.
For Wilderness, For the Earth:
Wolves! Not Cows.

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